


Medicine Man

by LovelyLittleGrim



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Canon Set, Eddie kisses things better, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 19:02:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21361129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLittleGrim/pseuds/LovelyLittleGrim
Summary: Buck doesn't know what to do when Eddie kisses him on the forehead the first time (or the second time) but he does know he wants him to do it again.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 88
Kudos: 973
Collections: 9 1 1





	Medicine Man

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ithinkwehaveanemergency](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithinkwehaveanemergency/gifts).

> Gifting this to Adri, because it's soft and also kind of her fault I'm in this fandom. Also, she's given me a lot of lovely gifts over the course of time I've known her.

There’s no longer any commotion going on around Buck, everyone having dispersed save for his teammates. It seems quiet now, which is impossible because they’re in the middle of the city of Los Angeles and there’s no such thing as quiet here. Still, the calm settles into him, let’s him feel everything so much more acutely, unfortunately. 

Buck wants to rub at his face, hide it in his hands as the embarrassment of the last twenty minutes fully settles in beneath his skin, warming up his face despite the chilly November night. He reminds himself how much he loves his job and how bored and—according to Maddie— _ sad _ he was when he was on leave. 

“Alright, Buck, follow my finger,” Chimney says from where he’s crouched on one knee in front of him, a finger held in front of Buck’s face.

Buck wants to roll his eyes because he’s fine, but Cap would actually have a conniption if Buck didn’t at least let Chimney check him over after his little tumble on the stairs. It was only three steps, and Buck had only hit his head a little bit, but after that whole puking up blood gambit no one will let him walk off so much as a stumble without being checked for serious injury. With a quiet little huff, he follows Chimney’s finger with his eyes as it's moved back and forth slowly, and then lets the other man shine a flashlight into them as well.

“You done, yet?” Buck asks. The chill of the concrete beneath his ass is starting to seep into his skin through his pants. He wants to stand up and move around, prove that’s he’s just fine.

Chimney clicks off the flashlight and sighs. “You’re fine, pupils are responsive and there’s no discoloration around your eyes.”

Hen hums from where she’s been standing behind Chimney, arms crossed over her chest. “Stop scaring us, Buckley,  _ or else, _ ” She tells him threateningly, but there’s the ghost of a worried smile on her lips just before she walks away.

He hates that he’s made them worry about him again, but it wasn’t even his fault that he had slipped on the stairs. That dick of a guy he was saving had all but elbowed Buck in his hurry to escape the building and then left Buck for dead in the stairwell. Okay, so not dead, exactly—because Eddie was right behind them and had seen the whole thing—but still, the dude was a dick.

Cap shakes his head. “No more injuries from you, got it, Buckley?”

“Yes, sir,” Buck says with an exhausted sigh. He tries to muster up a smile for his captain but isn’t sure he quite makes it. 

Chimney grins up at him as he packs away his things, patting Buck gently on the knee as he stands up. His voice is low when he says, “Don’t worry, this will pass, just let them worry a little longer.”

“Yeah,” Buck mumbles, dropping his eyes to the ground in front of him as both Cap and Chimney head off towards the truck. 

He doesn’t move from his spot despite the cold now making his ass numb. He’s not ready to move, his head hurts and he wants several aspirins, but knows that the medicine won’t mix well with his blood thinners. Maddie had made a point of telling him what he could and couldn’t take while on the medication. There’s even a printed-out list somewhere in his apartment from her, every key point highlighted. 

Giving in to his earlier need, Buck scrubs his hands at his face and keeps them there, breathing into his palms slowly, trying to ignore the pounding just behind his eyes. He just wants a break, is that really too much to ask for? No more injuries, no more worried family and friends, he just wants to be the old, healthy, confident Buck he was before.

“Rough night?” A familiar voice asks, and Buck wants to scoff at the understatement.

Letting his hands drop, Buck opens his eyes and comes face to face with Eddie. He’s crouched down, so close his knees are almost touching Buck’s.

“No, it’s been smooth sailing,” Buck says sarcastically and Eddie laughs, one of his hands landing gently on Buck’s shoulder and squeezing reassuringly.

“It’ll be fine,” he tells Buck. “It’s not like it was a side effect from your accident or your medicine. You just saved some assholes life and he repaid you by knocking you down a couple of stairs. It happens.”

“Wish it would stop happening to me,” Buck grumbles like a small child and then winces at the pain that flares up behind his eyes again.

Eddie’s face softens. “Yeah, me too.” His hand tightens minutely on Buck’s shoulder, but he doesn’t let go. “Anything you need?”

“A new head would be nice, this one is killing me,” Buck says, gesturing up at his forehead. He cracks a small smile just so there isn’t anymore worry directed at him.

“Sorry, don’t have any spare ones lying around.”

Buck lets out a little huff of laughter. “Damn. Guess you’ll just have to kiss it better then.”

There’s only a second’s pause before Eddie’s lips press against Buck’s forehead. It’s a brief, soft kiss, but lingers warmly even after Eddie pulls away and stands up. “Better?”

“Yeah,” Buck croaks out. He’s frozen in surprise, eyes latched onto Eddie.

Eddie gives him a little smile, the red of the fire trucks lights making him look flushed just before he turns and heads for the very same truck. Buck watches him go, unable to stand and follow. Slowly, Buck lifts a hand to his forehead and touches the spot where Eddie had pressed his lips. He feels warmer than he had during the quick check-up, his face hot and his mouth dry. He really wishes he could blame it on embarrassment or some terrible head trauma, but he knows that’s not what this is. 

“Buck!”

The voice startles him, his hand jerking away from his head like he’s been caught doing something bad. Captain is staring at him from the driver’s seat of the truck, a look of exasperation on his face. “We’re leaving now, you maybe want to get in the truck?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Buck coughs, pushing himself up to his feet as he wonders if Cap had seen the kiss. It makes him want to crawl back into the burnt husk of the building behind him and hide among the ashes. “I’m coming, Cap.”

Eddie doesn’t bring it up, so neither does Buck, but god that doesn’t stop him from obsessing over it like some love-struck teenager. It’s all he can think about at work, the warm press of lips on his skin, the soft smile Eddie had given him before he had walked off. That’s not normal, right? Friends, even really good friends, don’t just kiss each other, right?

“Something wrong with your head?” Hen asks and Buck immediately drops his hand from where it had been rubbing at his forehead.

“No,” he says quickly, eyes darting over to Eddie, who’s not paying attention, and then back to Hen. “No, I’m fine.”

Hen purses her lips and gives him a flat, disbelieving look, but doesn’t say anything else about it. “Right.”

Chimney looks worried though. “Isn’t that where you hit your head a few days ago? Does it still hurt?”

Buck can feel himself growing warm. “No. Guy’s, I’m fine, really.”

When he glances over at Eddie again, he finds the man staring back at him this time. There’s a small quirk to his lips like he’s caught on to why Buck was actually touching his head. Buck really hopes he hasn't. 

“It’s a small headache, I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Buck says as a last resort.

Chimney remains unconvinced. “You should let me check you over again, just in case.”

Buck watches as the small quirk to Eddie’s lips grows a little bigger. 

“Fine,” Buck grumbles, just to follow Chimney downstairs so he can escape Eddie’s amused gaze.

The check-up is quick and thorough, Buck complaining that it’s nothing the entire time until Chimney has gone through everything.

“If you feel dizzy or nauseous, tell someone,” Chimney says as a final measure of concern before sighing and stuffing everything back into his medical bag. “Don’t play tough guy.”

“I won’t,” Buck promises and as annoyed as he is about being coddled by his friends, he’s also touched by their concern over him. It’s really like having a second family. He gives Chimney a tired smile. “Thanks, Chim.”

Chimney grins back at him, “Anytime, man, I got to look after you, Maddie would kill me if I didn’t.”

With a roll of his eyes, Buck nudges Chimney away, and the man laughs as he goes. Buck supposes that out of all future brother-in-law prospects, he’s pretty lucky to be saddled with Chimney. His sister deserves to be loved by someone kind and caring, he’s glad they found their way to each other; even if he does hate how sickeningly sweet they are with one another.

“Careful,” a voice calls out teasingly, “All that thinking might do more damage.”

Buck exhales heavily and lifts his hand to flip Eddie off as the man joins him on the metal bench, dropping down onto the seat beside him.

“Is it really just a little headache?” Eddie asks nonchalantly, “you’re not going to kill over in the middle of a shift?”

Leaning back against the cool metal, Buck nods. “No dying today, at least not from a headache.”

“Good, because Chris would be heartbroken if we had to cancel movie night tomorrow just because you decided to die,” Eddie tells him mock-serious.

“I don’t think  _ ‘decided’ _ is that right word there, buddy.” Buck can’t fight the smile that’s pulling at his mouth.

Eddie shrugs, but there’s a smile on his lips too. “Tomayto, tomahto.” He pushes himself up to his feet slowly, body stretching as he goes. Buck expects him to leave, head back up the stairs where there are more comfortable places to relax until the bell rings. He doesn’t though, instead he lingers in front of Buck, eyes drifting up to the landing where everyone else is talking and laughing before looking back down at Buck.

Buck feels stuck to the bench, breath caught somewhere between his throat and lungs because he knows what’s going to happen. There’s a soft look on Eddie’s face, his eyes crinkled at the corners with the upturn of his smile. He bends over slowly, giving Buck more than enough time to move or stop him, but Buck just sits there, anticipation thrumming through his veins like lightning.

The kiss is just as gentle as the first one had been, but it’s longer, a slow and lingering press of Eddie’s mouth to his forehead. His breath stirring Buck’s hair as he breathes against Buck’s skin before finally pulling away.

“You should claim one of the beds, get some rest before we’re called out again,” Eddie advises, voice barely a whisper as he straightens up, hands slipping into the pockets of his dark blue jacket.

Buck nods, voice stuck and tongue heavy feeling.

Eddie nods back and then he’s striding away, up the stairs to join the others. When Buck finally manages to tear his gaze away from Eddie, he sees Hen leaning against the railing, her eyes fixed to Buck. He sees the moment she notices him looking and she smiles, smug and knowing, into her coffee cup. Buck knows she won’t say anything to anyone else, but he also knows that he’s in for a fuck ton of teasing. He pointedly looks away and shuffles, red-faced and awkward, towards one of the available rooms to suffocate himself in a pillow.

Buck isn’t ready for movie night with the Diaz’s. He doesn’t care that he’s already on their front porch, one hand raised to knock. He’s a mess, more so than he had been when he was dating Abby. Which makes no sense to him, because he’s not even dating Eddie. His hands shouldn’t be sweaty when it’s this cold outside and his face shouldn’t feel this warm. He shouldn’t be this nervous when all he’s doing is hanging out with his best friend and his best friend’s cute kid.

_ It’s not a date _ .

Buck drops his hand and leans his head against the door. The wood is rough and cold, but it feels nice against Buck’s inflamed face. He should leave, text Eddie that something came up and he can’t make it. It’s a good idea, and Eddie would understand how things sometimes get in the way of plans, but all Buck can think about is Chris’ disappointed face and before he can stop himself, he’s knocking on the door.

There’s a loud cheer from the other side of the door and the uneven steps of an excited Christopher coming to let him in. It makes Buck smile as he takes a step back and waits for the kid to open the door.

“You came!” Chris shouts when the door is open all the way.

“Of course, I did,” Buck says as he steps inside the house and takes care of closing and locking the door.

“Dad said you might not today,” Chris tells him.

“He did?” Buck glances down the hall towards the living room, but he doesn’t see or hear Eddie.

“He’s in the shower,” Chris tells him.

Buck nods, but there’s a small frown that’s working its way to his face. Buck’s only missed movie night once and he’s regretted it ever since, but that was back when he wasn’t supposed to see anyone during the trial. So, why would Eddie think he wouldn’t be here? Did he know that Buck was freaking out about the kiss… kisses?

“Can we get pizza?”

Blinking, Buck looks down at Chris’ imploring face and finds the frown melting away. “Yeah, man, we can get pizza.”

A look of delight crosses Chris’ face as he moves towards the living room. “I want pineapples.”

“What? Are you crazy?” Buck asks with an amused shake of his head. “pineapple on pizza?”

Chris laughs like it’s the funniest thing ever and Buck finds himself laughing too. “Fine, I guess we can get pineapple.”

The pizza is already ordered, and Chris has chosen the movie when the bathroom door finally opens, and Eddie appears in the hallway just outside the living room. He pauses, eyes just a little wider as he looks at Buck. “You’re here.”

“I don’t miss movie night,” Buck says quietly, eyes firmly fixed on Eddie’s face and not his naked chest or the water droplets that trickle down his tan skin.

“You missed it once,” Chris chides from his spot on the couch, a huge bowl of popcorn between his legs.

Buck turns away from Eddie to tickle Chris, “Yeah, and I’m never missing it again, kiddo.”

Chris jerks away, laughter filling the living room even as he yells out, “You better not!

Glancing over his shoulder, he goes still when he sees the fond expression on Eddie’s face. He swallows convulsively and wishes he had a glass of water to wet his suddenly dry mouth. “Uh, you should go get dressed, the pizza will be here soon.”

“You ordered pizza?” Eddie asks arching a brow.

“With pineapple!” Chris says.

Buck nods. “With pineapple.”

“Sounds good,” Eddie grins as he turns and heads towards his room. “I love pineapple pizza.”

Buck wrinkles his nose. “You’re both disgusting. I hate you guys.”

“You love us.” Eddie’s voice carries back to him.

Buck’s heart thuds a little too hard in his chest, because yeah. Yeah, he really fucking does and that’s the problem.

The movie is some cheesy Netflix Christmas special, Buck hates it. Kind of. It’s just too unrealistic and cliché, but it makes him feel hopeful the way these types of movies always do when he watches them. All these impossible circumstances and terrible past experiences building up to one fateful meeting and then boom, there’s love and happiness.

“He’s out,” Eddie whispers.

Buck glances down at the kid in his lap, hair askew and popcorn spilled all over the pair of them. He smiles softly and cards his fingers through Chris’ hair. “Yeah, don’t think he made it halfway through the movie.”

Eddie breathes out a soft laugh. “He never does.”

Buck yawns himself and tucks his hands under Chris’ body, gently easing the boy up off his lap and the couch. “I’ll put him in bed.”

With a nod, Eddie collects the popcorn bowl and scoops up stray kernels into it. “I’ll be there in a moment.”

The walk from the living room to Chris’ bedroom is short and quick, Buck doing his best not to jostle the kid.

“Buck?” Chris mumbles into his shoulder as Buck fumbles with the blanket, tugging it down so he can lay Chris beneath it.

“I’ve got ya, kid, just sleep.”

Chris nods against his neck, sleepy breaths tickling Buck’s skin. “Did you like the movie?”

“Yeah, it was a good pick,” Buck tells him as he gently eases Chris into the bed and covers him up.

“Good.”

Buck takes his glasses off carefully and sets them down on the bedside table where Chris can grab them if he needs them. He looks younger without his glasses and sleepy, eyes squinting up at Buck in the soft lamp light. “Get some sleep.”

“Night Buck,” Chris mumbles, curling on his side. “Night dad.”

“Night,” Eddie says from behind Buck, startling him.

Buck hadn’t heard the man follow him into the room or stand behind him. Eddie brushes past Buck to smooth back Chris’ hair and kiss him gently on the top of his head with a little murmur of ‘I love you’. Stepping carefully back from the bed, he turns off the little lamp on the bedside table. The room goes dark, darker than Buck had ever liked his room being when he was a kid, but he knows that it’s how Chris prefers sleeping. The kids braver than Buck will ever be.

“Come on,” Eddie whispers, hand catching Buck’s wrist and guiding him towards the door.

The hallway is blindingly bright after the darkness and Buck has to squint until his eyes adjust as Eddie leads him back to the living room, fingers still held loosely around Buck’s wrist. The living room is a mess of popcorn, pizza crust, and pillows. Buck’s not sure how it always gets so bad when there are two fully grown adults and only one kid, but this is how movie night always ends. Like there’s a natural disaster right in Eddie’s living room.

Buck snorts out a little laugh as he snags up a pillow with a piece of pineapple stuck to it. He plucks it off and uses his sleeve to try and clean away some of the residue before dropping the pillow back onto the couch.

“You don’t have to help clean up,” Eddie says like he always does when Buck sticks around a few extra minutes to tidy up the mess he helped make.

“It’s fine,” Buck shrugs as he gathers up some popcorn and drops it into the bowl Eddie had left on the coffee table. “It’s the least I can do after adding to this tornado.”

Eddie laughs. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem.” Buck smiles to himself as he continues cleaning along Eddie. He can’t believe he almost chickened out on tonight. He had just thought things would be a little awkward or stilted but it was the same as any other time. They ate pizza, and made fun of the movie, and they laughed together as a little almost-family. It was a good night.

Buck spots a pizza crust just under the coffee table and bends over to get it. When he goes to stand up again, he smacks the back of his head against the corner. “Shit,” he hisses out in pain, crust falling back to the floor.

“You okay?” Eddie asks in concern.

Buck waves him off. “Yeah, I’m good, just hit my head.”

Eddie shakes his head and moves closer. “You’re going to give Chim a heart attack if you hit your head one more time this week.”

“I know,” Buck mumbles, rubbing at the back of his head sourly. “Not like I do it on purpose.”

“Let me see.” Eddie doesn’t wait for a response before stepping into Buck’s space and gently cupping his head to tilt it down so he can see the aching spot.

Buck goes still in his grip, breath halting. 

A soft caress ghosts over the spot, gentle fingers prodding. “Tender?”

“A little,” Buck breathes out.

There’s a quiet, thoughtful hum. “No blood,” Eddie murmurs back before tilting Buck’s head up so they’re nearly eye to eye again. “You should be fine.”

Buck blinks at him, tongue darting out to wet his lips. There was no kiss. No gentle press of lips to the place that aches. He’s a little disappointed.

“Stop hurting yourself,” Eddie says softly, fingers trailing away from Buck’s cheeks and back down to his own sides.

“I’ll try,” Buck tells him, but it feels a little like a lie. He wants those gentle kisses back, the soft shy smile that takes over Eddie’s mouth after they’ve been placed. He wants the thing that makes getting hurt almost worth it.

Nodding, Eddie takes a step back, but Buck doesn’t let him move far, his hand reaching out on its own accord and tangling in Eddie’s soft Henley. “I…”

Eddie pauses, eyes drifting down to look at Buck’s hand, Buck tightens it reflexively and doesn’t let go. When Eddie finally looks up to meet his gaze, Buck feels like an idiot. There he goes acting without thinking again, and now he’s just standing here in Eddie’s living room, one hand holding tight to Eddie’s shirt and he’s not saying anything.

“Buck?”

Buck swallows thickly. He knows what he wants to ask, a million different things, but he doesn’t know how to get the words out.

_ You didn’t kiss me this time _ , Buck thinks at him.  _ You kissed me twice before when it hurt but not this time. Why? Why not? What does it mean? Why did you do it? _

“I…” Buck’s throat clicks dryly, “it hurts.”

Eddie’s lips part, a soft exhale slipping through them. “Okay.”

Hands, warm and sure, touch at the sides of Buck’s head again and gently tilt it down. Then there are lips, soft and careful, pressing against the little knot on the back of Buck’s head. He squeezes his eyes shut, his face burning. He doesn’t want Eddie to gently move his head back up, he’s embarrassed and terrified, but he doesn’t resist the insistent hands.

A thumb brushes along Buck’s cheek, so feather-light Buck’s almost sure it’s his imagination as one hand moves around to touch at the back of his neck. “Buck,” Eddie whispers. “Does anything else hurt?”

Buck shakes his head, his eyes opening slowly.

Eddie’s so close, body heat seeping into Buck as they stand chest to chest. “Are you sure?”

He almost nods his head, almost says ‘yeah, I’m good’, but then he understands what Eddie is asking. His tongue flicks out and licks at his dry lips, nervously. Eddie’s eyes follow the movement, swaying in even closer. Buck doesn’t know what to do here, what to say. He’s kissed people hundred of times, it shouldn’t be so hard to just lean forward and do it.

Only, it’s never been this important to him. There’s never been so much on the line before. Eddie is his best friend, he’s important to Buck, necessary to him because Buck doesn’t know how to cope without the guy in his life anymore, and it’s the same for Eddie’s son. He needs them both around, always, he doesn’t want a kiss to fuck that up.

“Buck,” Eddie’s tone is teasing and breathy, “you’re thinking too hard again.”

Buck meets his eyes, they’re dark in the dim living room lighting, but that doesn’t hide the fondness, the affection, and also the same doubts and worries that Buck feels.

Stop thinking, he tells himself. It's you and Eddie. It will be just fine.

Leaning closer, Buck bumps his nose against Eddie’s, “It hurts,” he says again, voice even lower.

Eddie’s hold gentles at the back of his neck as he tilts his head to the side, their mouths nearly brushing. “Where?”

“Here.” 

The kiss is gentle and sweet on his lips—almost like medicine, easing away the ache that’s been living in him for weeks, maybe even months, the longing and the need he’s been fighting back for the sake of friendship. He falls into it and knows that this fall won’t leave him hurting.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading.
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://lovelylittlegrim.tumblr.com)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Medicine Man (PODFIC)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22083604) by [ToughPaperRound](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToughPaperRound/pseuds/ToughPaperRound)


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